Review: Showcase Presents... Power Girl by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, Dick Giordano, et al.

After her debut in All Star Comics, Power Girl got a three-month feature in Showcase, DC's title with rotating stars (for example, the Doom Patrol starred before her, and Hawkman after). I had originally skipped this in my Earth-Two reading project because the back issues are pretty expensive, and the trade they're in is half Geoff Johns shit with an awful Adam Hughes cover, but after early issues of Infinity, Inc. made a couple references to them, I looked into picking them up, and saw they were just $0.99 on Comixology. I don't normally like buying DC stuff on Comixology (unlike IDW publications, you can't download a PDF, so you have to read it in the terrible Comixology viewer), but $3 seemed hard to turn down.

It's a bit off. Since Power Girl was just one of an ensemble in All Star Comics, she didn't have much of a backstory there-- she's just like, "oh I'm Superman's cousin, hi"-- and these stories fill it in to an extent, and also give her a status quo outside of her JSA activities. But it's kind of awkward and weird. Power Girl was rocketed to Earth as an infant to escape the destruction of Krypton, of course, but unlike Kal-L, who landed on Earth still a small child, Kara Zor-L was raised to a young adult level in an artificial simulation of Kryptonian childhood before she reached Earth. I think there's real potential in such a situation, but the story doesn't make a whole lot of it: Kara's "symbioship" is trying to reabsorb her, she reveals her backstory, she defeats it with the help of Andrew Vinson (a Gotham reporter), the end, all in the space of two issues.

from Showcase #98 (art by Joe Staton & Dick Giordano)

It's over improbably quickly, and I'm not sure why the symbioshop had to attack Power Girl and try to absorb Vinson, but it is a set-up with some good dramatic potential. I like the idea that she fits so poorly into human society because she was raised in Kryptonian society... but that was an illusion, so the only thing she knows is fake. It's a much more tragic take on the Krypton backstory than Superman's. (Though All Star indicated she was raised by the Kents, who are never mentioned here.)

from Showcase #98 (art by Joe Staton & Dick Giordano)

But it's all over just like that. Between the second and third issues, she concocts a human identity as Karen Starr, Wonder Woman uses an Amazonian teaching machine to give her knowledge of human culture as well as software development, and Vinson gets her a job at a software company. Like, that's it? It seems pretty meh that she didn't even know what software was until the machine taught it to her, so her job doesn't even build on any preexisting interests or skills. I mean, she was raised in a computer world, the connection is right there, but the story never makes it! Why give her a dilemma she actually never confronts in a story? (I'll be curious to see if future Power Girl stories, in Infinity, Inc. or elsewhere, make more of this. Probably not, because the Crisis on Infinite Earths will wipe this whole backstory away.)

from Showcase #99 (art by Joe Staton & Dick Giordano)

There's a subplot in the first two issues about someone stealing technical equipment; it turns out to be the Brain Wave at the end of the second, and the third focuses on Kara's battle with him. For some reason he hates Power Girl more than the rest of the Justice Society because she's defeated him more (really?) than them. I thought his power was brain stuff, but here he's building tripod war machines and sending cities into dimensional limbo, which doesn't really flow from that as far as I can tell. I do really like how Joe Staton draws his enlarged cranium, though.

from Showcase #97 (art by Joe Staton & Joe Orlando)

As always, I like Staton's art. Lightly stylized but full of energy, too, and his Kara looks like a powerhouse. Power Girl wears a choker; so did Black Canary at this time if I recall correctly, so I guess it was a thing then.

Showcase Presents... Power Girl originally appeared in issues #97-99 of Showcase (Feb.-Apr. 1978). The story was written by Paul Levitz; illustrated by Joe Staton (#97-99), Joe Orlando (#97), and Dick Giordano (#98-99); lettered by Ben Oda (#97-98) and Shelly Leferman (#99); colored by Jerry Serpe (#97) and Adrienne Roy (#98-99); and edited by Joe Orlando.

This post is the sixth in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers America vs. the Justice Society. Previous installments are listed below:

1. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)
2. The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
3. All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
4. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
5. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
   

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part VII: Showcase Presents Secrets of Sinister House

Comic hardcover, 496 pages
Published 2010 (contents: 1971-74)
Borrowed from the library
Read October 2013

Showcase Presents Secrets of Sinister House

Written by Joe Orlando, Len Wein, Frank Robbins, Mary Dezuniga, Mike Fleisher, Lynn Marron, Sheldon Mayer, John Albano, Robert Kanigher, Sergio Aragonés, Lore Shoberg, Maxene Fabe, E. Nelson Bridwell, Jack Oleck, Steve Skeates, John Jacobson, W. F. Harvey, Ambrose Bierce, Fred Wolfe, George Kashdan, Dave Wood, Leo Dorfman

Art by Don Heck, Tony Dezuniga, Alex Toth, Frank Giacoia, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Alfredo Alcala, Ed Ramos, Mar Amongo, Bill Draut, Nestor Redondo, Sergio Aragonés, June Lofamia, Sam Glanzman, Lore Shoberg, Ruben Yandoc, Alex Niño, Abe Ocampo, Rico Rival, Gerry Talaoc, Larry Hama, Neal Adams, Rick Buckler, Jess Jodloman, Jack Sparling, Romy Gamboa, Don Perlin, Vicente Alcazar, Ernie Chan, Ramona Fradon, Howard Chaykin, Win Mortimer, Sy Barry, John Calnan, Murphy Anderson, Angel B. Luna, Jerry Grandenetti, Gil Kane, Bernard Sachs

Secrets of Sinister House has a more distinct identity than some of DC's other horror titles; it actually starts off as The Secret House of Sinister Love and features issue-length stories, as opposed to The House of Mystery, The House of Secrets, and The Witching Hour!, which crammed three or so stories into each issue. In addition, the stories have a unique theme: gothic romance. Which seems to mean young ladies being lured into strange houses on strange pretenses to be manipulated into marriages. So kinda weird, but strangely enjoyable-- how many variations on that theme can be devised?

Not a ton, as with issue #6, the series switches to the more traditional collections of stories, but in the interim there's some strangely enjoyable stuff; the full-length stories mean these stories have much more of an impact than some of their contemporaries. Particularly there's some lavish artwork from some of DC's best, like Alex Toth in "Bride of the Falcon" (a young woman in Venice), or Tony Dezuniga in "Kiss of the Serpent" (a young woman in India).

The later issues lose this gimmick, but it still seems more cohesive than in some series. I did enjoy the creativity of "The Hag's Curse" and "The Hamptons' Revenge" (written by Sheldon Mayer, art by Sam Glanzman), two stories of different time periods that literally run in parallel to each other-- take that indie comics innovators of the 2000s.  We even get a story that seems rooted in DC's "Great Disaster," with "When Is Tomorrow Yesterday?" (written by Sheldon Mayer, art by Alfredo Alcala). The book does begin to get kinda dumb with its own theme by the end, though, such as issue #16, where each story is about a literal "sinister house"! Lame.

I picked this volume up because, as with its contemporaries, its host was reclaimed by Neil Gaiman as a resident of the Dreaming in The Sandman. But Eve is a virtual non-entity in these pages. The Secret House of Sinister Love actually begins as hosted by Cain, pulling out a file from the House of Mystery. Finally, with issue #6, Eve gets an amazing introduction, where Cain and Abel run away from the Sinister House because they don't want to be there when "that thousand-year-old female horror arrives!" (she's apparently been sleeping), but after that, she's just a recycled Alfredo Alcala headshot at the beginning of each story, with no personality. She does have a raven with her, though-- Matthew's predecessor? There's even an appearance in one story of three witches living in an apartment together-- Mildred, Mordred, and Cynthia of The Witching Hour! perhaps?

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part IV: Showcase Presents The House of Mystery, Volume One

Comic trade paperback, 552 pages
Published 2006 (contents: 1968-71)
Borrowed from the library
Read October 2013

Showcase Presents The House of Mystery, Volume One

Written by Joe Orlando, Sergio Aragonés, Jack Miller, Bob Haney, Marv Wolfman, Charles King, Howie Post, Neal Adams, E. Nelson Bridwell, Jerry Grandenetti, Gil Kane, Mike Friedrich, Cliff Rhodes, Otto Binder, Robert Kanigher, Jack Oleck, Joe Gill, Gerry Conway, John Albano, Len Wein, Lore Shoberg, Virgil North, Alan Riefe, John Costanza

Art by Lee Elias, Doug Wildey, Joe Orlando, Sergio Aragonés, Bernard Baily, Carmine Infantino, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Jack Sparling, Sid Green, Bill Draut, Neal Adams, Jim Mooney, Win Mortimer, Jerry Grandenetti, Bernie Wrightson, Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Frank Springer, Alex Toth, Wayne Howard, Al Williamson, John Celardo, Mike Peppe, Tony Dezuniga, John Albano, Leonard Starr, Tom Sutton, Ric Estrada, Frank Giacoia, Jim Aparo, Lore Shoberg, Gray Morrow, Don Heck, Russ Heath, Jack Kirby, John Costanza, Nestor Redondo

This volume of House of Mystery is where Cain, later of The Sandman fame, got his start. Unlike with House of Secrets, there's no set-up for the series: we simply launch into "The Wondrous Witch's Cauldron" (writer unknown, art by Lee Elias). The second issue collected here does have Cain briefly introduce himself before launching into a story, but it's just a page-- the origins of the House of Mystery aren't delved into at all.

That said, we do get bits of history that are built on. "The House of Gargoyles" (written by Bob Haney, art by Jack Sparling) is about a former boarder at the House of Mystery, in this case a fellow who was being pursued by gargoyles. The inhabitants of the nearby town are repulsed by them (House of Secrets will later tell us this town is located in Kentucky), but when the gargoyles get their man, they leave. However, they leave a little gargoyle behind who becomes known as Gregory-- and appears not only in this series, but in The Sandman (I think he might have birthed Abel's pet gargoyle, Goldie). Several other stories are about boarders at the House of Mystery, past or even present, such as "Boom!" (written and illustrated by Jerry Grandenetti), where a dead parachuter spends the night there, or "Dark City of Doom" (written by Gerry Conway, art by Tony Dezuniga), about a guy who travels through time to ancient Egypt.

In "Turner's Treasure" (written by Jack Olek, art by Alex Toth), we even learn that before coming to the House of Mystery, Cain was the building custodian of the Philosophy Department at State University. Does this mean Kentucky State University? Why was this never mentioned in The Sandman? Maybe he left the Dreaming during Dream's long absence to take a new job?

Other good stories included "The Roots of Evil!" (written by Marv Wolfman, art by Jack Sparling), about two rival plant scientists, "The Game" (written and illustrated by Neal Adams), an atmospheric tale about a kid who shelters from a storm with a ghost kid, "What's the Youth?" (written by E. Nelson Bridwell, art by Win Mortimer and George Roussos), where a creepy guy buys a youth potion to hit on a younger woman, and "Dark Night, Dark Dreams!" (written by Gerry Conway, art by Bill Draut), a great first-person story about a woman on the run seeking refuge. As you can see from the credits, the book is blessed with some first-rate talent, and I suspect the black-and-white reproduction makes the art even better than it'd've been on original publication.

My favorite part of these early House of Mystery issues is "Page 13," a recurrent feature on (duh) page 13 of each issue. Here, some demon has a new message or game or token for the reader every week. Things like membership cards you can cut out, letters giving the owners bad luck, paper dice, and so on. In one case, a story is too long and runs onto page 13, so it's all messed up, with the demon chortling about the "dumb editor." Another starts on page 13-- with artist Gil Kane being sucked into it! He ends up being attacked by his editors, who are demons, and trapped inside the House of Mystery forever. There's a lot of fantastic black humor, and it's a real shame that this feature fades out.

The best is the second one, where you drop a pencil onto a circle containing a number of possible fortunes, including "You Are Drafted," "That Trip Will Cost You" (complete with psychedelic lettering on "trip"), "Your Father Found It," and "You Will Be Caught in the Dormitory"! I never expected to see even covert references to drug use, pornography, and masturbation!